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Brendon McCullum hits 225 as India and NZ draw Test

Second Test, Hyderabad (day five):
New Zealand 350 & 448-8 dec drew with India 472 & 68-0
Match scorecard

Brendon McCullum improvises
McCullum played some typically inventive shots in his maiden double hundred

Brendon McCullum struck a maiden double century as New Zealand and India drew the second Test in Hyderabad, leaving the series at 0-0 with one match left.

The Kiwis began the final day 115 ahead with six wickets intact but McCullum, resuming on 124, made 225 with 22 fours and four sixes in a total of 448-8.

India were set an implausible 327 and reached 68-0 when stumps were drawn.

The final Test begins in Nagpur on Saturday, before the teams play a five-match one-day international series.

It was a marvellous performance from 29-year-old McCullum, who was promoted to open the innings for the first time at Test level during this series.

The attacking right-hander spent nine hours at the wicket and reached 200 with a pre-determined scoop to fine-leg off the occasional spin of Suresh Raina.

McCullum, who had five previous Test centuries to his name, shared 124 for the fifth wicket with 20-year-old Kane Williamson, who scored a hundred in the first Test on debut and reached fifty from only 77 deliveries.

Williamson hit Sreesanth for three fours in an over shortly after the new ball was taken but could not find the same fluency against the spinners and was trapped lbw by Harbhajan Singh for 69 shortly after lunch.

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Having improved on his previous best of 185 against Bangladesh earlier this year, McCullum advanced down the wicket to Sreesanth - a tactic that had been successful on several occasions - but skewed a slower-ball to mid-on.

The tourists declared at tea but there was still time in the 17 overs that followed for India's cavalier opener Virender Sehwag to make his 25th Test half century, with 54 from as many balls.

Sehwag was dropped at first slip by Ross Taylor on 14 off slow bowler Martin Guptill, who three balls later was blasted for six over long-on, before the teams shook hands on a stalemate.

India, the world's top-ranked Test team, beat Australia 2-0 in a two-match series last month, and had been expected to record a similarly comprehensive victory over the Kiwis, ranked a lowly eighth, but now have only one match in which to do so.

Key left-arm seamer Zaheer Khan will miss that final Test after suffering a suspected abdominal strain.

The 32-year-old bowled only four overs on the penultimate day because of the problem, and though he returned on the final morning he completed only three overs before leaving the field again in discomfort.

Uncapped fast bowler Jaidev Unadkat has been called up to replace him in Nagpur.



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see also
NZ fight back after Harbhajan ton
15 Nov 10 |  Cricket
Harbhajan powers India into lead
14 Nov 10 |  Cricket
Harbhajan and Sehwag boost India
13 Nov 10 |  Cricket
McIntosh digs in for New Zealand
12 Nov 10 |  Cricket
Harbhajan and Laxman defy Kiwis
08 Nov 10 |  Cricket
Laxman back as India recall trio
25 Oct 10 |  India
New Zealand in India 2010
10 Dec 10 |  Cricket


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